Mahama's camp puts NDC in danger

Former Consul to Dubai, Daniel Osei, has observed that the incessant tagging of party members, who disagree with the camp of former President John Mahama, is dividing the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) further, making it difficult for the party to unite.

He said recent events have shown that it is the Mahama camp, which is endangering the party since the former president’s core supporters have become intolerant of dissenting views and constructive criticisms.

Stronger Grassroots

“I don’t care who becomes our flagbearer. I don’t have a candidate and I don’t need to have a candidate to understand the value of organizing for our desired goal of victory 2020,” he said in his latest epistle as the NDC seeks to reunite after a bruising defeat in 2016.

Mr Daniel Osei said he had always stressed the need for serious grounds work and the importance of starting the processes of reorganization early, adding that selecting a flag bearer would be easy if the grassroots are already fixed.

Leadership Sabotage

The former consul claimed the attempt to commence the reorganization as soon as the NDC lost the December 7, 2016 general elections, was dashed by the national executives of the party.

“If the party executives are insisting on imposing the former president as flag bearer – FINE — why endanger the party’s prospects in the process of that agenda? Why can’t we build our party up while the former president rests and when it’s right time he announces his return? Can’t we chew gum and walk at the same time?” he wondered.

Mr. Osei observed, “Because the focus has been on engineering the return of former President Mahama, more than building the party, they see any advice not emphasizing their position as bad and must be defeated with insults and the attack dogs, even if the advice is good for their agenda in the long term. If former President Mahama becomes the flag bearer, doesn’t he stand to benefit from a stronger party if attention is paid to treating this lame horse of a party as he now describes us?”

Phantom Voters

He said, “We are not using information wisely. We are too tone deaf and focused on silly feel-good sentiments and managed to conjure up the false narrative that somehow one million NDC members didn’t vote and so they will come out and vote in 2020 and our surest bet is this person or that person. Really? I feel scandalized, folks.

“We are wasting good opportunity just sitting. We were rejected by the electorate. Period! And if we want to return to power, we better sit up. Talk to your friends, the teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, businessmen, workers and you will find person after person who voted for Prof Mills (RIP) in 2008, supported NDC in 2012 and voted against Mahama in 2016. These people are real and we must sit up and listen to them and their concerns and organize around that from the branches up!”

Mr Daniel Osei asked, “How many NDC parliamentarians are in parliament today but JM lost in their constituencies- in the North, in Accra and elsewhere? This is information we must pay attention to. When you ask this, they retort, ‘but there are places the former president won but the parliamentary candidate lost,’ and they say it as if it’s an intelligent response.”

Imminent Disaster

According to him, disaster is awaiting the NDC in 2020 if the opposition party continues to sweep the problems that made them lose under the carpet, adding that “those who have hijacked our party don’t have a clue as to what must be done.”

Mr. Osei posited, “To the sycophants, it’s all about the money and the so-called advisers simply are clueless. We saw this movie play out in 2015-2016.”

EC Voter Register Debate

The former consul said the NDC gurus were wrong when they sided with the Electoral Commission (EC) to deny Ghanaians a new voter register and said it contributed to their massive defeat.

“Remember our insistence on no registration and the NPP wanting a totally new register? Why would we want no registration to take place? In the four years between 2012 and 2016 there was a very short limited registration prior to the assembly elections and it was hardly engaged. Did no NDC person turn 18 in that four-year period, and why wouldn’t we want to register them?” he queried.

Mr Daniel Osei noted, “In their simple-mindedness, they concluded we won with the 2012 register and should do whatever it takes to hold onto it, all the while not recognizing we were hurting ourselves.”

Lazy Thinkers

“Instead of engaging a robust registration of our people and using the information to organize our campaign, the lazy thinkers, who managed the campaign, felt it was sufficient to bully their way through with the old register,” he charged.

He said the NPP was hungry for power and prepared better to beat the NDC to its game.

“What happened to the proposed change in the election date to November? Did we not have the majority in parliament to make the change happen? It was not done because the original intention was just not holding – grounds were not good and grounds never got good because we refused to do the hard work to help make grounds good, and today, grounds STILL no good,” Mr Osei observed.